Tuesday, August 6, 2019

A Midsummer Nights Dream Essay Example for Free

A Midsummer Nights Dream Essay We watched two different versions of Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream. The first version we watched was from the BBC. This version showed the dream world mixed in with reality, which was quite good. The second version of this play was by channel 4. This was a little less detailed as it showed the forest with lights hanging down. The accents of the actors in the first version were hard to understand because they were from all over England. The first version was also hard to understand because the actors did not use very good body language. The first version also good in the way that it made its forest so life like, well as in the second version it was plain and had doorways in the middle from where people came from. The language use was easier to understand than the second version because the actors used more present English rather than old Shakespeare language. I think that the second version we watched was more suited to children rather than adults because it contained childish humour. When Puck gave Bottom a donkeys head it looked quite unrealistic in the first version because it looked like a rabbit. In the second version Bottoms ass head was good because it actually looked a little realistic. In the second version when Bottom and Titania fell in love, I think they went a bit over the top with the love scene. The first version of the play showed the dream world mixed with reality because Puck made it easy to see who was in the dream world and who wasnt. The strange thing about the second version was having the little boy as a narrator. I think that may confuse people because they have now added another world to the whole story. There is now reality in the film, the dream world and reality in our world. When the first version showed the play by Bottom and his friends it seemed unpracticed and shabby. The second play showed a little humour by adding people forgetting their lines and the good roaring by the lion. They actually performed on a stage which was more appropriate for the occasion. In the first version they had to perform on the floor. If the actors were performing in front of a Duke and a Duchess then the performers should be given a proper performing stage. I think the second version of the play was by far the best because it had better acting and it showed some humour. In the first version I did not like it how the audience could sense the presence of the dream world. After Bottom and his friends had acted I did not understand why Puck had led all of the fairies through the corridors of the house. I think I prefer the second version of the play because I think it is more suited to my age group and plus I understood it a lot better than the first version. This is because it used present English and it used better body language.

Monday, August 5, 2019

Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (SCT) Overview

Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (SCT) Overview Coming Soon to a Doctor Near You At the current rate, in 2017, half a million American children will be taken to their doctors and be newly diagnosed with ADHD. Many of them will receive thoughtful and reasonable evaluations and benefit from medication. Another sizable number will be seen by casual clinicians who either bypass the childs real problems or give in to his frustrated parents and teachers. Some of the adolescents will be faking ADHD just to get Adderall for themselves or others. Whatever the actual breakdown, there will be 500,000 new diagnostic visits, millions of follow-ups, ten of millions of pills, and hundreds of millions in sales. Lots of business for everyone. Apparently, this market must expand. The same folks who built todays ADHD machine the same doctors, the same drug companies are already working on tomorrows. A new disorder is being buffed and burnished as you read this. Its name: sluggish cognitive tempo, or SCT. Its kind of like ADHD, but not quite. SCT is a syndrome marked by daydreaming, lethargy, and slowed thinking or behavior. Some SCT researchers claim that they are simply trying to resolve some long-standing confusion about ADHD. SCT attempts to rename the merely inattentive children who have never quite fit the ADHD construct. They say that a many as three million children have the disorder half of them already diagnosed with ADHD. Anyone who gets diagnosed with SCT will find help ready and waiting. Eli Lilly has already enlisted Russell Barkley and other doctorsÂÂ   to investigate how Strattera would treat SCT, too. *** Most countries have cringed at Americans approach to difficult children. They have viewed ADHDs explosion as an American travesty borne of parental impatience and corporate greed. International experts concluded that diagnosing and medicating the most severely hyperactive kids really could be justified. But the criteria for pharmacological intervention were kept far more restrictive. The international community has rejected the APA definitions and instead relied upon what the World Health Organization defines as hyperkinetic syndrome. That diagnosis requires a child to have significant problems in all three of ADHDs symptom groups hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention and includes other barriers to haphazard diagnosis. When applied appropriately, this definition results in 1 to 2 percent of children being told they have the disorder. Some nations, such as Brazil, France, Italy, and Sweden, remain very conservative toward the diagnosis, and especially the medications in cases anything less than dire. The United kingdom, the Netherlands, and Germany have been more liberal in accepting the ADHD concept, to the point that some estimates of diagnosis rates in those countries have reached about 5 percent. As for ADHD drugs, no country has anywhere near the enthusiasm of the United States, which had prescribed more than 90 percent of the worlds amphetamine and methylphenidate. But the rest of the world is catching up. From 2000 through 2010, its consumption of ADHD drugs almost doubled. Concerta had geared up its advertising in Europe. Shires has taken a less direct route to growing its offshore market, educating doctors about ADHD itself so that prescriptions follow. In a medical conference at the National Institute of Health in 2015, Keith Conners spoke at a panel called ADHD Around the World. He recounted his decades in the field, from his work with Leon Eisenberg to minimal brain dysfunction to what he now declared were outrageous rates of ADHD diagnoses. He warned against the imminent world-wide influence of pharmaceutical companies, and all but apologized from his having worked on their behalf for decades. *** Meanwhile, some health officials in Georgia were concerned about how many young children in the state were on ADHD medications. Georgias rate, 6.1 percent, was growing, and disturbing. They called the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and asked Dr. Susanna Visser, the epidemiologist for ADHD, to run the numbers on four- and five-year-olds. Visser discovered that more than ten thousand toddlers kids ages two and three, still in diapers across the United States had been diagnosed as ADHD and put on Adderall, Concerta, and the like. She wrote up a formal report and presented it at a conference on childrens mental health at the Carter Center in Atlanta. The report begged a response from government health agencies to address what was going on here. A few days later, Dr. Tim Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, responded in a blog post, saying that most of the prescriptions for stimulant drugs were not from psychiatrist. Insel was right. Most diagnoses in children are indeed made by pediatricians and family doctors, rather than better-trained and more experienced child psychiatrists, who must receive two extra years of schooling in order to practice. But the United States has only about eight thousand practicing child psychiatrist. Its no wonder that parents prefer seeing someone closer, cheaper, and more familiar with their child: their pediatrician. Unfortunately, most pediatricians were taught about ADHD and stimulants for only a few hours out of the entire seven years in medical school. Two longtime members of ADHDs horn section, Peter Jensen, and Ned Hallowell, have joined Keith Conners to hold seminars across the nation to teach pediatricians how to diagnose ADHD, and how not to diagnose it.

Sunday, August 4, 2019

Effect of Adrenaline on Cardiac Arrests Survival

Effect of Adrenaline on Cardiac Arrests Survival Effect of Adrenaline on Survival in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrests: A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial Hem Patel The study shepherded by Jacobs et al juxtaposed the effect of adrenaline on survival in out-of-hospital cardiac arrests with a randomized double-blind placebo controlled trial. This study was the first of its kind to address the knowledge deficit of two majors goals: survival of the patient to a hospital discharge and return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). Cardiac arrest occurring out of hospital is a significant public health issue causing fatality rates upwards of 90%, although improving in the recent decades.1 Thus, the researchers analytically examined the relationship between the uses of adrenaline in such patients through a randomized control led trial (RCT) in the region of Western Australia (WA), under government contract with St John Ambulance Western Australia (SJA-WA). Being on top of the studies’ hierarchy, RCT studies like this one, quite evidently fortified the experiment’s internal validity. The creation of comparable groups in the study allowed the control of confounding variables enhancing the internal validity. An investigationRandomized controlled trials, such aslike RCTthis one, decreases the sampling bias by decreasing the likelihood of chance results occurring, thus enhancing the internal validity of the study. which was evident in the Jacob study. Logistic regression modeling further augmented this investigation The investigation was further augmented by logistic regression modeling which was undertakenin order to control for the effect of potential confounders1 (i.e. the patients’ initial cardiac rhythm, age and ambulance response time). on the relationship between study drug and patient outcome.1 Although, as a result of a small sample size, often the case with RCTs, and specific geographical demographics, limited external validity was a given. Low external validity was evident in this study as only one major hospital in the region of WA took part in it. The other hospitals requested did not participate due to rejection from their hospital ethics board.This was evident in this study as four of the five hospitals requested to participate felt the ethicality of the study superseded their own ethical board, negatively. Hence, the total number of patients being able to participate in this study had quite drastically decreased, in turn hampering the power of the study. However, two very crucial experimental qualities in high precision and internal validity were upheld consistently throughout the experiment, in spite of the very limited external validity. All out-of-hospital cardiac arrests attended by SJA-WA paramedics between 11 August 2006 and 30th November 2009 were screened into the experiment for entry into the trialwere entered into the trial.1.1 Patients suffering a cardiac arrest from any cause, aged 18 years or older with resuscitation commenced by paramedics were eligible for entry as well; indicating a moderately strict eligibility and inclusion criteria. Patients were excluded based on having no resuscitation commenced, were of an age less than 18 years, and eligible patients’ personal declination. n and randomization number of patient lost/As noticed, the external validity along with confounding bias of the study decreased due to the increased criterion required for a patient to take part in the trial. It may look as if few categories were used to determine the eligibility of the patient, though many factors such as patient age, male gender, bystander witnessed, response interval, and the study drug were accounted for through univariate analysis. The only confounding variable, which was accounted for, stated by the study is the factor of initial shockable rhythm (when a particular type of cardiac rhythm is treatable using a defibrillation) – one that is not very significant (p-Value of 0.24) in changing the efficacy of adrenaline in out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. Being able to eliminate thisese potential confounding variables and biases, internal validity increased showing that the lack of a causal relationship between effect of adrenaline and cardiac arrests was less likely to be an upshot of an uncontrolled confounding variable, rather than one accounted for. In regards to a This studyRCT study, has a sample size of 534 patients, one that is of a moderate size in comparison to other RCT studies., out of whichOut of 534 patients, 272 were randomly assigned to the group being treated with adrenaline and 262 to that of the placebo group.1.1 As eEach of the patients had an completely equal chance to be presented with either of the treatments, and this randomization of the participants controlled for a potentiality of a sampling bias – a chance yet again enhancing the internal validity. Additionally, although very diminutive confounding bias was associated with this study, the potential of selection bias was still present as the study took place only in Western Australia. it was unable to exclude the potential for selection bias as the participation in the study by the SJA-WA paramedics was voluntary, only 40% of eligible patients were recruited. However, trial patients were well matched on baseline characteristics (age p-value of 0.69, location of arrest p-value of 0.25, volume of trial drug versus placebo drug administered p-value of 0.28).1 , Henceforth, no reason to suggest that paramedics who participated in the trial were more likely to selectively enroll patients into the trial.1 . Furthermore, to reduce the possibility of confounding bias, all paramedics in WA underwent the same type of training familiarizing them of this trial protocol; even if they were not participating in the actual experiment. This further enhanced the internal validity of the study. As mentioned above, as resuscitation commenced by paramedics, the patients were eligible for entry, where if they were administered adrenaline it would be at a rate of 1mL every 3 minutes, with no other drugs entering through tracheal administration. Prior to the commencement of each trial to be presented with an equal chance of the level of treatment for each of these patients specific training of the pharmacology of adrenaline, familiarization with the trial protocol, further practice in intravenous cannulation and cardiac simulation exercises along with testing was undertaken to ensure the prerequisite resuscitation competency standard had been achieved. This training was provided to all of the paramedics in the WA area regardless of their intention to participate in the study; being able to decline confounding bias from the patient-care givers’ aspect, enhancing the internal validity.Analyzed above in this critical appraisal are many aspects of the study that allow for a s tudy it to be very well received by majority of the readers, although there were a couple of limitations. Firstly, the researchers were unable to achieve full patient recruitment as planned (4103 patients who had cardiac arrests attended by an ambulance). This study was designed as a multicenter trial involving a five-ambulance service. , Ddespite having ethical approval from the Human Research Ethics Committee of the University of WA, four out of five hospitals opted out.otherwise. Thus, giving this gave the study a moderate sample size, increasing the chance of making a type two error and ; essentially decreasing both the internal validity and the power of the study. The failure to achieve an adequate sample size left the trial underpowered (power of 40%) to detect significant effects on survival to hospital discharge.1 The second limitation to the study was the ability for it to continue, as the study experimental drugs had gone past their expiry date and no additional funding wa s available. Granted,ing the patient as well as researcher blinding was well preserved in this study such that, the researchers can consider the likelihood of these factors being differentially distributed between the two study arms (placebo vs. adrenaline) to be small.1 The researchers claim that there is a significant (3.4 times) increase in the likelihood of achieving ROSC pre-hospital if the patients were administered adrenaline versus the placebo (23.5% versus 6.4%; OR 3.4; 95% CI 2.0-5.6; p-value 1).1 They base this conclusion on the oOdds ratio (OR), which were used to quantify the odds of achieving ROSC pre-hospital depending on the administration of the placebo or the adrenaline. how strongly the presence of the outcome was associated with the presence of the administered adrenaline versus the placebo saline solution2. After adjustment for confounders (age, sex, initial rhythm shockable, ambulance response interval and study drug) using the logistic regression model, there was little change in the effect of adrenaline on ROSC (OR. 3.5; 95% CI 2.1-6.0).1 The degree of precision that a study maintains is defined by a confidence interval. The experimenters claim that they are 95% confident that the odds ratio of being ROSC pre-hospital with the administration of adrenaline is between 2.1 and 6.0 indicates a moderately definite statement (explained further). However, there was insignificant evidence (OR 2.2; 95% CI 0.7 – 6.3; p-value 0.15) of the patient administered with adrenaline versus placebo to survive until hospital discharge. Because 1.0 is included in the confidence interval, the researchers acknowledge it as not statistically significant. However, from a clinical standpoint, 3.5 times greater chances of the patient achieving ROSC are significant and one should definitely consider applying such a method, if in the position to do so. Results indicated the OR for ROSC achieved pre-hospital patients at 3.4 (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.0-5.6; P saline placebo. The outcomes dictate an approximate 16% greater advantage of a chieving ROSC pre-hospital with the administration of adrenaline than having the placebo. Statistical significance is generally considered at 20%, but in aspects dealing with topic as such, upwards of 5% could statistically mean more to the medical community; allowing to save more lives.3 At an OR of 2.2 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.7 – 6.3; P = 0.15) indicates no difference between the two testing groups with the p-value greater than that of the alpha value of 0.05. Results are further negatively supported by the CI including the value of 1, demonstrating statistical insignificance; decreasing the study’s precision in this aspect of the outcome, although balanced by the significance in the previous outcome. The findings of this study are equivocal to several other clinical trials designed the to assess the efficacy of adrenaline in cardiac arrest. The most dominant feature about this study is that it is the first ever-randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial of adrenaline in cardiac arrest, while others all have been non-randomized trials. Similar results were replicated through the Rresearch conducted by Olasveengen et al. also His study reported a doubling in the proportion of patients achieving ROSC with an OR of 1.99 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.48-2.67), and achieving similar non-significant increasing results in the proportion surviving to hospital discharge4..4 Although, Jacob’s study, although further expanded on the generality of the efficacy of drug to locations of arrests, ambulance response interval, cardiac arrest witnessed (bystander and paramedic) and airway management; bringing greater appreciation to this study..1 Three sources of Mill’s Canons were evidently utilized to support the causality. The strength of association was statistically significant, as noted by the greater effect of adrenaline in ROSC being achieved pre-hospital transportation. An increase dosage of adrenaline would directly increase ROSC, and possibly an increase number of patients survive to hospital discharge.1, 5Adrenaline stimulates ÃŽ ²-adrenergic receptors which stimulate the increase of blood flow indicates the final Mill’s Canon in biological plausibility. Thus, it can be noticed that a causal relationship can be agreed upon adrenaline and increased ROSC being achieved pre-hospital. Jacobs points out the importance of his study’s contribution to clinical research on adrenaline usage during cardiac arrests, and at the same provides suggestions to further research avenues. To be able to determine the optimal dose or timing of adrenaline administered during cardiac arrest are the two main areas of further research. In my opinion, the study was done welldone, extremely well, providing sufficient evidence for a relationship between the adrenaline and an increase ROSC in 18 and above out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. With the elimination of a majority of the biases, through the use ofwith logistical regression and creating comparable groups (placebo versus adrenaline), internal validity and the precision of the study was enhanced. .The findings of this study are clinically important in that it established efficacy for the continuous use of adrenaline in cardiac arrest as currently recommended.5 With a study related to such a topic, the sample size should adequa tely be increased to allow for a greater power and external validity in the study; allowing a generalization to a greater portion of the public. References Jacobs IG, Finn JC, Jelinek GA, Oxer HF, Thompson PL. Effects of adrenaline on survival in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial.resuscitation2011; 82: 1138-1143. Szumilas, M. Explaining odds ratios.National Center for Biotechnology Information2010; 19(3): 227-229. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2938757/ (accessed 28 October 2014). Pocock, SJ. Clinical trials with multiple outcomes: a statistical perspective on their design, analysis, and interpretation.Elsevier1997; 97. Olasveengen TM, Sunde K, Brunborg C, Thowsen K, Steen PA, Wik I. Intravenous drug administration during out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a randomized trial.JAMA2009; 302: 2222-2229. Vandycke C, Martens P. High dose versus standard dose epinephrine in cardiac arrest a meta-analysis.Resuscitation2000; 45: 161-166

The Significance of Villains in Beowulf Essay -- Epic Beowulf essays

The Significance of Villains in Beowulf  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   Ancient, timeless, and very, very hard to read, Beowulf has plagued well-meaning college students for centuries with its cryptic passages and vague metaphors. Yet at the root it resonates with a sort of clear allegorical criticism aimed at Scandinavian warrior society. In the story of Beowulf, the unnatural fiends in the poem were each symbols for the political strife in the system. They formed the basic constructs in an allegory against the flawed nature of the warrior society at the time. Grendel, the first monster, makes his appearance directly after the poet references the men in their mead-hall. Yet he is not simply referred to in a natural segue between themes: he is actually introduced directly after speaking of future strife among the family in that hall. Note in the following passage where the poet breaks off what began as a paragraph about the merry-making which went on in the hall known as Heorot. The hall stood tall, high and wide-gabled: it would wait for the fierce flames of vengeful fire; the time was not yet at hand for sword-hate between son-in-law and father-in-law to awaken after murderous rage. Then the fierce spirit painfully endured hardship for a time, he who dwelt in the darkness.... The form it takes can essentially be described as "They celebrated, but all was not well in the future of the hall. Also, Grendel waited outside...." The close proximity of the description of familial betrayal and Grendel's introduction leads to the conclusion that the two are related. As I interpret it, the demon Grendel is a symbol for the terrible problem of succession that the Danes suffered time and again. The unstable nature of the court and th... ...m. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.    Shippey, Thomas A.. â€Å"Structure and Unity.† In A Beowulf Handbook, edited by Robert Bjork and John D. Niles. Lincoln, Nebraska: Uiversity of Nebraska Press, 1997.    Sisam, Kenneth. â€Å"The Structure of   Beowulf.† In Beowulf: The Donaldson Translation, edited by Joseph F. Tuso. New York, W.W.Norton and Co.: 1975.    Tharaud, Barry. â€Å"Anglo-Saxon Language and Traditions in Beowulf.† In Readings on Beowulf, edited by Stephen P. Thompson. San Diego: Greenhaven Press,1998.    Tolkien, J.R.R.. â€Å"Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics.† In Beowulf – Modern Critical Interpretations, edited by Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.    Ward & Trent, et al. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1907–21; New York: Bartleby.com, 2000   

Saturday, August 3, 2019

my first ride in a cop car :: essays research papers

The first time I rode in a police car was about a year ago in Myrtle Beach. My friend Richard and I were there for about a week before senior week. On about our third day we found a seller of questionable goods and Richard bought some of his merchandise. Little did we know that it would come back to bite us.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On our way back to our hotel Richard, in his eternal wisdom, said, â€Å"Hey I‘ve got it, let’s go get trashed and wander around!† Of course, I’m always one to get along. So I said, â€Å"Okay!†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We met some lovely young ladies, two blondes and a red head, that we had seen earlier on our way to a club and asked them, â€Å"Hey girls, we’re headed out, you wanna come with?† The reply was not what we expected, one of the blondes, Ashlee, I believe, said â€Å"What do you boys plan on doing?† I replied, â€Å"We’re probably gonna go lick shots and do some other stuff.† The red head, Brianna, then says, in a definite Boston accent, â€Å"Why don’t youse guys come wit us to our hotel?† I give Richard a questioning look and say jokingly, â€Å"Hey man, what if they’re rapists?† Rich then gives me an â€Å"are you a dumbass† look and whispers, â€Å"Do I look like I give a fuck?†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While we were headed to the girls’ hotel we saw our â€Å"friend† from earlier. He stopped us and asked, â€Å"Hey’d you guys like the stuff from the other day?† Both of us shook our heads. â€Å"Want to get some more?† this question was followed by a display of his merchandise. Richard said, â€Å"Okay hook us up.† After money exchanged hands we were once again on our way.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  About ten minutes later we arrived at the girl’s hotel and went up to their room. As we entered the other blond, he name was Justice, casually says, â€Å"Just ignore the mess.† All of a sudden, I blurt out, in my best gay impersonation, â€Å"Oh my god this is so messy!† when in reality the room was spotless. This out burst gets a very mixed response, I get laughs from the blondes, Ashlee and Justice, but I think Brianna was confused. Richard just hit me and said, â€Å"Shut the hell up man.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After a couple of hours of recreational time, Richard yells at me â€Å"Come on man, we gotta go!† We get up to leave and halfway out the door one of the girls, probably Brianna, calls after us, â€Å"Give us a ring!† I reply, â€Å"Yeah okay.

Friday, August 2, 2019

Organisational dialouge Essay

Question 2: A range of authors (e.g. Gerard and Ellinor 2001; Isaacs 1993, 1999; Schein 1993; Senge 1995) suggest that dialogue can positively transform organizational cultures. Do you agree with this assessment? Why? Why not? Engage with relevant academic literature in developing your argument. Student Name: Nguyen Vu Hoang Dung Student Number: 11477445 In organization people spend 80 percent of their time to communicate (The British Psychological Society 2012). Communication is a key tool to share information, foster different opinions and build alignment and trust. According to Gerard & Teurfs (1995), the process of dialogue is an invitation to create organization cultures through conversations. It acts as a learning environment that shifting individuals to â€Å"a deeper understanding of collaboration in groups, and a new way of sensing their connections to others throughout the organization† (Querubin 2011, p.19). It brings all the ideas together and suspends judgment so people will have a greater chance to understand each other (Brayman, Grey & Stearns 2010). This essay will analyze the role of dialogue in transforming organizational cultures positively and all the benefits it brings. However, it will also examine the challenges of implementing dialogue. Organizational culture includes shared values and beliefs that guide behaviors of all members and determine the way things should be done in the organization (Sergiovanni 1984). Company has its own culture usually indicates higher performance. The role of dialogue is not only to spread the common values and meanings that company wants its employees to follow but also allow everyone to express their own interest. According to Gerard and  Ellinor (2001), the main purpose of dialogue is to produce collective understanding. Firstly, they compared the differences between dialogue and discussion. In discussion, people tend to protect their own thoughts and do not truly concern about other’s opinions and needs. They play as a speaker’s role rather than as a listener. It might leave the remainder out of discussion with frustration, isolation and disrespect. Decisions could be made by the person who has the most power and influence in the group (Gerard and Ellinor 2001). Hence it weakens the aim of enhancing organizational cultures. In contrast, when employees participate in a dialogue, their role as a listener is more important than as a speaker. They desire to hear what others want to say. They try to fit all different perspectives into a common value. Therefore, if issues occur, they listen to deeply understand other’s thoughts and opinions (Gerard and Ellinor 2001). By doing that, employees are getting closer to each other and conflicts are minimized. They help their team or their department to build shared culture. Secondly, Gerard and Ellinor (2001) stated five skills of dialogue including suspension of judgment, listening, reflection, assumption identification and inquiry. They defined the meaning of suspension in dialogue is not to stop one’s judgment about a problem. Instead, they have to aware what their judgments are and â€Å"then holding them lightly so they can still hear what others are saying† (Gerard and Ellinor 2001, p. 7). After listening carefully to other’s ideas, they need to reflect their own assumptions. Therefore, to revising whether those assumptions are linked to the organization or not. If they cannot understand the differences, they must inquire for more information. Hence, this process of dialogue enables each employee to foster different views and converge them together to become one unique aim. Organizational culture is enhanced. In agreement with Gerard and Ellinor, Isaacs (1999) analyzed four principles of dialogue based on Bohm’s research in 1996. They are listening, respecting, suspending and voicing. Firstly, Isaacs had compared listening skill in dialogue to listening to music. He stated a single note of music could not deliver the meaning of the whole song. It is similar to one’s role in a conversation. A single idea is not sufficient to set purposes and  cultures for the whole organization. Hence, dialogue is an excellent practice to give people a chance to listen deeply and get into the nature of the conversation. Secondly, he defined respecting as getting to know more about one person and figure out what sources or circumstances has created their particular thinking. Based on this understanding, people in an organization will pay more respect to each other. The main goal of respecting in dialogue is not to seek decision but to tolerate difference, gap and conflict (Isaacs 1999). The third principle of dialogue, suspending, is determined similar to Gerard and Ellinor (2001). And the last principle Isaacs mentioned is voicing. He suggested people should listen internally so as to select what should say and what should not say in a circumstance. Sometimes keeping silence and listen can achieve the best result. Therefore, the purpose of voicing means people contribute their speech, not only for themselves, but to the whole idea. Overall, these principles are considered having positive effects on organizational learning. They emphasize group and organization achievements rather than an individual accomplishment. In Schein’s study (1993), he described dialogue as â€Å"talking around the campfire† (p. 391). He used â€Å"campfire† as a metaphor to explain how decision is made through dialogue. In the past, people sat around campfire during meeting and shared their own opinions. Arguments would never come up as people just simply expressed their thoughts without any discussion or debate. Through that, they were aware themselves which idea was acceptable and were unacceptable (Schein 1993). This process allowed enough time for each person to listen to a deeper layer of other’s opinions then reflect on their own assumptions. Moreover, Schein introduced the check-in concept. At the beginning of the meeting, each person will respectively contribute his or her ideas, views and feelings to the group as a whole, and therefore, â€Å"has helped to create the group† (Schein 1993, p. 392). Lastly, Schein stressed the limitation of eye contact. This makes people feel ea sier to suspend disagreements and concentrate on listening. Senge (1995) determined dialogue as a facilitator for team learning. Based on his research, team is the key unit to build culture in an organization. By applying dialogue into team learning process, it develops shared vision and  brings result every member truly desires. It also creates teamwork and shares equal leadership to each member in the group. Through sharing a common pool of meaning, culture is positively transforming from individual to group values and beliefs. Although dialogue is proved to have a great effect on organizational culture, there are challenges in implementing it into organization learning system. The first challenge is due to hierarchy level in an organization (Raelin 2012). Dialogue requires equal say and sharing from each member of the organization. However, employees tend to afraid of expressing their true views in front of their managers. They leave decision making to people at higher position. In top-down companies, upper levels of management have full knowledge of desired targets, goals and norms. They have the right and ability to create and change organizational culture. They enforce rules and duties on their employee. They usually do not spend time to listen to individual’s opinion and feeling. Hence, it is very challenging to apply dialogue into this type of business. Furthermore, if the organization involves a cross-culture, that employee come from different culture backgrounds, there is a need for a more lengthy and complicated process of dialogue (Schein 1993). In this type of organization, people use different languages and operate from different mental models. Organization needs to design a dialogue that enables all these people to communicate effectively. Thornhill, Lewis & Saunders (2000) also emphasized there is may be a need to â€Å"re-designing of performance appraisal systems and reward systems† and â€Å"the re-definition of job roles to induce employees into accept the new behavior expected from them† (p. 27). Hence it is costly and time consuming. Finally, dialogue may not be suitable to apply to all organizations cultures in the world. For example, Western culture is different from Eastern culture. As dialogue encourage the limitation of eye contact (Schein 1993), people from the West will consider this as impolite or even disrespectful (Spindler 1990). In addition, in Western countries people prefer confrontation whereas Eastern people prefer to say what they feel most  appropriate in this circumstance or least hurtful to the others (Schein 1993). Therefore, dialogue must be selective so it is suitable for each particular organization. In conclusion, dialogue has played a key role in positively transforming organizational culture. It acts as a learning environment that shifts individual to group thinking. It leads each employee to recognize the essential of collaborating in a group. Querubin (2011) demonstrated that dialogue enables members to â€Å"become open to diversity and lose an â€Å"us vs. them† paradigm so prevalent in task-oriented cultures† (p. 19). Hence, group achievement is more important than individual accomplishment. Moreover, dialogue includes suspending of judgment, listening, respect, reflection, assumption and voicing. Through all these principles, dialogue creates collective understanding and leads all members of the organization to higher commitment. However, the implementation of dialogue still faces several challenges, including hierarchy levels, time consuming and different cultural backgrounds. Therefore, selective approach of dialogue must be considered to apply to specifi c organization. REFERENCES Bohm, D. 1996, On Dialogue. Ed. Lee Nichol, Routledge, London & New York. Brayman, J., Grey, M. & Stearns, M. 2010, Taking Flight to Literacy and Leadership, Rowman & Littlefield, viewed 16 December 2010, Ellinor, L. & Gerard, G. 2001, Dialogue at Work: Skills at Leveraging Collective Understanding, Pegasus Communications, Waltham, MA. Ellinor, L. & Gerard, G. 2001, Dialogue at Work: Skills at Leveraging Collective Understanding, Pegasus Communications, Waltham, MA, pp. 7. Gerard, G. & Teurfs, L. 1995, Dialogue and Organizational Transformation, 1st edn, Sterling & Stone, Inc., San Francisco. Isaacs, W. 1999, Dialogue and the Art of Thinking Together: A Pioneering Approach to Communicating in Business and in Live, Currency, New York. Querubin, C. 2011, ‘The effect on the organization’, Dialogue: Creating Shared Meaning and Other Benefits for Business, pp. 19, Raelin, J. 2012, ‘Dialogue and deliberation as expressions of democratic leadership in participatory organizational change’, Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 25. Schein , E. H. 1993, On dialogue, culture, and organizational learning . Organizational Dynamics, pp 391-392. Senge, P. M. 1995, The spirit of personal mastery, MN: Charthouse International Learning Corporation, Burnsville. Sergiovanni, T. 1984, ‘Leadership and excellence in schooling’, Educational Leadership Journal, vol. 4. Spindler, G. 1993, The American Cultural Dialogue and Its Transmission, Psychology Press, The British Psychological Society 2012, Dialogue: How to create change in organizations through conversation, viewed 14 May 2012, http://www.bps.org.uk/events/dialogue-how-create-change-organisations-through-conversation-1 Thornhill, A., Lewis, M. & Saunders, M. 2000, Managing Change: A Human Resource Strategy Approach, Prentice Hall, London.

Thursday, August 1, 2019

Boeing Case Analysis

Lincoln University Graduate School of Business Marketing Management Team Project Case 3: Boeing Company Team – 8 The five elements group: Derek Dellape : 7551 Synopsis As the largest aerospace company in the world, the Boeing Company employees more than 153,000 people in some 67 countries. The great dominance of Boeing is due to its 1997 merger with McDonnell Douglas Corporation, an aerospace manufacturer, and its 1996 purchase of the defense and space units of Rockwell International Corporation, an aerospace contractor.The corporation is the world’s number one maker of commercial jetliners and military aircraft with more than 9,000 commercial planes in service worldwide, including the 717 through 777 families of jets and the MD-80, MD-90, and MD-11. In the defense sector, the company makes military aircraft, including fighter, transport, and attack aircraft; helicopters; and missiles. Moreover, Boeing is the nation’s top NASA contractor and the leader of the U. S. industry team for the International Space Station and directly involved in commercial space projects such as satellite networks.History The Boeing Company was founded by William Edward Boeing and his colleague George Conrad Westervelt in 1916, in Seattle, Washington. The first plane built by Boeing and Westervelt was a â€Å"B & W† seaplane and it was sold to the government of New Zealand which employed the plane for mail delivery and pilot training. The enterprise was expanded due to opportunities in the airmail businesses which lead to development of an extremely versatile and popular airplane called the Model 40.This airplane could carry 1,000 pounds of mail and a complete flight crew, and still have room enough for freight or passengers. In the years leading up to World War II Boeing led the way in developing single-wing airplanes. They were constructed completely of metal to make them stronger and faster, more efficient aerodynamic designs were emphasized and finally, directional radios were installed which enabled better navigation and nigh flying. At this point, Boeing had established itself as the leading manufacturer of airplanes.During the 1950’s and 1960’s, Boeing was allowed to use the government-owned B-52 construction facilities for the development of a new civilian/military jet. This new jet, the B-707, first rolled off the assembly line in 1957. Boeing enjoyed a large degree of success and profitability with the 707. The company devoted its resources to the development of a number of other passenger jet models, including the 720 (a modified 707) and the 727 introduced in 1964, which was able to carry 143 passengers. During this time the company also recognized a demand for a smaller 100 passenger jetliner for shorter routes.As a result, Boeing developed the 737 model which was considered to be a very technological advanced jetliner. Meanwhile, Boeing expanded its involvement in the defense market through the 1960 acquisi tion of Philadelphia-based Vertol Aircraft Corporation, a maker of military helicopters. During the Vietnam War, Boeing Chinook and Sea Knight helicopters were heavily utilized by American forces. The 1960’s also saw Boeing active in the NASA contracting sector. As the Cold War continued, Boeing was selected to develop the Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile system.In addition, Boeing was heavily involved in NASA’s Apollo project of the 1960’s, beginning with its production of several Lunar Orbiters as well as the Lunar Roving Vehicle, which was used to explore the moon in the early 1970’s. During the 1970’s, Boeing tried to diversity its business by entering the metro-rail business, manufacturing mass transit systems for Boston, San Francisco, and Morgantown, West Virginia. The systems were modern, computerized, and efficient but prone to frequent breakdowns. After fulfilling its obligation to rectify the systems (at great cost), Boeing d ecided to discontinue its ground transport business.As the dominant aircraft manufacture for over three decades, Boeing began to experience a decline in its earnings and stock price during the middle of 1980’s even though it remained profitable. Unfortunately, Boeing jets were involved in four fatal air accidents from December 1988 to March 1989, and the company missed its first delivery deadline in two decades when the 747-400 experienced production delays. These internal problems were exacerbated by increased competition from Airbus, which was heavily subsidized by a consortium of European companies and governments.Furthermore, worldwide orders of all aircraft by the airliners declined from 1,662 in 1989 to 439 in 1991. Fortunately, in 1993 NASA selected Boeing as the prime contractor for the International Space Station, which was called the largest international science and technology endeavor ever undertaken. Boeing was also becoming increasingly involved in commercial sp ace projects and in December 1995 ten commercial space satellites were produced and launched from a floating platform at sea.In the middle of 1990’s, Boeing began its plan of acquisitions and in 1996 it paid $3. 2 billion for the aerospace and defense holdings of Rockwell International which was responsible for the Space shuttle and International Space Station programs, as well as activities in launch systems, rocket engines, missiles, satellites and military airplanes. Furthermore, in 1997 Boeing completed a $14 billion acquisition of McDonnell Douglas which was the world’s number three maker of commercial aircraft.The acquisition increased Boeing’s share of the world market for large commercial jetliners to more than 60 percent and left it with just one major competitor in that sector, the European Airbus which held about one third of the world market. Unfortunately, 1997 turned disastrous for Boeing for reasons wholly unrelated to its acquisition spree. Attem pting to take advantage of the upswing in airplane orders, which was in part caused by the aging of the airliners’ fleets, Boeing committed to doubling its production over an 18 month period.The eagerness of Boeing to increase its revenue lead to production delays, including the wholesale shutdown of some production units and reducing its workforce from 238,000 at year end 1997 to between 185,000 and 195,000 by the end of 2000. If the delays and reduction of workforce weren’t bad enough for Boeing enterprise, the contract awarded to Boeing by the Air force to undertake the Evolved Expandable Launch Vehicle program (EELV) was canceled due to allegations of cheating to win the Air force contract. Today Boeing is undertaking a major project, Boeing 787 Dreamliner which will provide a super-efficient airplane apable of flying long ranges with less fuel. However, Walter James McNerney, the CEO of Boeing Corporation, will have to deal with many issues such as competition, va lue chain and ethics in order to dominate the aircraft industry in next future. Analysis Competitive Rivalry between Existing Players: The commercial aircraft business is very important for Boeing because it covers more than 65% of its total revenue. In this market, losing market share can cause big impact on the performance of Boeing and its future development.The competition from Airbus is considered extreme and on the scale between 1 and 10, it can be ranked as 9. The level of competition between the two aircraft manufactures is very clear as it is shown in Figure 1. Figure 1. Graph of market share (%), gross orders between Airbus and Boeing from 1994 to 2006. The level of rivalry between Airbus and Boeing shown in Fig. 1 depicts Boeing as the market share leader from 1994 to 1998. However, Airbus took the market share from Boeing in 2001 and kept its position as the market share leader until 2004.Even though the number of orders was more superior with Airbus in 2004, the total r evenues of Boeing was still much higher than that of Airbus. While the revenue of Airbus in 2004 was $40 billion, Boeing had the revenue of $55 billion. This is due to the fact that Boeing gained profit from other activities such as military aerospace, defense, and space business. The competition from Airbus industry is getting more and more threatening to Boeing in the commercial aircraft market. Boeing has been the market leader since 1980’s.Nevertheless, Airbus has gained ground and expanded its market share very successfully by making great efforts in doing market research and development of new products. While Airbus spent 5. 9 percent of its total revenue on research and development in 1999, Boeing only spent 2. 3 percent. Therefore, it means that Airbus is now a big threat to Boeing and may take over its market leader position soon if Boeing doesn’t take any serious action to protect itself. Threat of New Entrance: It is not easy for new companies to enter the m arket of manufacturing large ommercial aircraft. The high cost of developing airplanes is a major factor in prohibiting new entrants to the market with costs as high as US$5. 5 billion to develop the Boeing 777 in the 1990’s. Furthermore, aircraft manufactures must sell between 400 and 500 aircraft at a rate of 50 sales per year in order to regain their investment after developing a new product. This means that companies which enter the market must be prepared to wait for around 10 years before showing any profit even though there is no guarantee that they will become profitable.For that reason, the threat of new entries is considered very low on the scale of 1 to 10, it is ranked as 1. Nevertheless, Boeing now has been faced the threat of new entrance by China. The Chinese government has officially approved the launch of China Commercial Aircrafts, which will manufacture large passenger airplanes. The plan is to have jets designed and built in China by 2020. Asian Airlines a re expected to buy nearly 10,000 new planes by 2025, with more than 2,200 of those going to Chinese airlines.Since Boeing and Airbus have been outsourcing most of the technical and engineering jobs to China, barriers of technology requirement to enter the industry can be overcome by the Chinese. As a matter of fact, a consortium of Chinese companies known as China Aviation Industries Corporation produces components for Boeing’s 747 and 787 wide bodies and operates a final assembly line for the Airbus A320. For that reason, China is now in advantageous position to build passenger aircraft due to its tremendous wealth, technological strength and a huge home market.Therefore, once China starts manufacturing aircrafts, it could also become a significant player in the world of passenger plane market and take part of the market share away from Boeing and Airbus. Nevertheless, the Chinese ambition to enter the aircraft industry is not a short run threat to Boeing because it may take at least 15 years to China begin to develop its airplanes. Despite its goal of eventually challenging Boeing, the Chinese will have to produce large jets which are able to meet only a small part of domestic demand while Boeing will continue to claim a big chunk of the Chinese market.Value Chain Analysis: For the past several years, Boeing has been grappling with problems in launching its latest major passenger airplane, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner at a cost of $178 million each. Airlines around the world preordered over 900 787 airplanes before they ever took a test flight based on its projected fuel efficiency, passenger comfort, low maintenance costs, flexibility, and other major design elements. However, the first test flights for the plane were delayed, largely because of supply chain issues.Boeing subcontracted out the design and assembly of major components of the 787 to firms in Japan, Italy, China, and India but did not impose adequate coordination across these various suppli ers. For that reason, subassemblies did not fit together properly, there were numerous quality and delivery issues, and countless other problems occurred. The biggest problem was that Boeing didn’t realize that integrating the supply chain and choosing the correct suppliers was much more difficult than it could have anticipated for.In this case, Boeing outsourced the assembly of parts of the airplane to countries such as China and India where labor is cheaper so that it could reduce cost of operation. Unfortunately, outsourcing to foreign countries to save money can cause backlash from the media, current customers, as well as possible future customers. As a matter of fact, one risk Boeing is taking by outsourcing its supply chain is giving away technology to third parties such as foreign aerospace companies. For example, Chinese suppliers may use the knowledge acquired from their work to begin creating a company of their own.If this occurs, it would be a huge threat to Boeing as well as Airbus since they have plans to capitalize on the flourishing Asia-Pacific markets. Ethics at Boeing Over the years, Boeing is focused on a flood of scandals that have tarnished the company’s image. In July 2003, the Pentagon stripped Boeing of one million dollars in rocket launch business for possessing proprietary documents stolen from a competitor, Lockheed Martin. As a matter of fact, Boeing was suspended from doing business with the federal government for twenty months. In another incident, the department of defense reported that Boeing overcharged the U.S. army by $13 million for parts opposed to a fair sale price of $10 million. Due to a lack of ethics, Boeing may lose credibility with its suppliers and customers who may think twice before signing a contract with Boeing. Moreover, Boeing lack of ethics is unfair to other companies as well as tax payers. Another ethic issue involving Boeing is that it has sacrificed American jobs for foreign government subsi dies. In recent years, Boeing has sought subsidies from foreign governments and it has pushed its manufacturing overseas in order to obtain such subsidies.For the 787 aircraft, Boeing reportedly secured a subsidy of almost $600 million dollars from the Italian government towards the manufacture of the rear fuselage of the airplane by the Italian firm, Alenia. Moreover, Boeing also reportedly obtained approximately $1. 5 billion in subsidies from the Japanese government for the same aircraft. In order to secure this Japanese subsidy, Boeing outsourced the manufactured of the wings and fuselage of the aircraft to the Japanese companies Fuji, Kawasaki and Mitsubishi.Sadly, Boeing outsourced the sort of technology that had benefited from years of American taxpayer-funded research and development spending. As a matter of fact, Boeing lack of ethics can leave many hard working Americans without jobs. Conclusion The dominance of aircraft manufacturing business by Boeing is impressive, but Airbus and threat of new entrants could take part of the market share away from Boeing. For that reason, Boeing should spend more money in research and development so it could improve its airplanes with new technological advances.In this market, technology is crucial because it can help differentiate one company from another; and therefore, the most advanced technological firm is more able to keep and gain more customers than its competitors. Even though technological advances are important factor that help distinguish one company from another, Boeing shouldn’t neglect the fact that supply chain is also very crucial to a company success. When Boeing outsourced its supply chain to China and India, it caused a delay on Boeing 787 Dreamliner production.If a company wants to be the market leader, it shouldn’t outsource supply chain because it is sometimes difficult to contact with suppliers and verify quality of products being used to assemble the aircrafts, for example. I n addition, Boeing shouldn’t outsource supply chain because it takes a risk of giving away technology to third parties such as foreign aerospace companies in China and India. If Boeing wants to keep its dominance of aircraft manufacturing business, it should be more ethical when doing business.The lack of ethics by Boeing can cause a great harm to the image of the company; and worst of all, Boeing could lose credibility with its suppliers and customers who may think twice before signing a contract with it. The bottom line is that Boeing should have more consideration with its competitors as well as tax payers when doing business. Answers and Questions: 1) Discuss the nature of the market structure and demand for the Dreamliner. What are the applications of this for Boeing and customers?A) The nature of the market structure for the Dreamliner is oligopolistic which means that the market or industry is dominated by a small number of sellers in this case aircraft manufactures. T he oligopolistic market is comprised of a handful of competitors sheltered by significant barrier to entry. This means that firms are heavily restricted from entering or leaving the industry. For that reason, Boeing has the chance to take the market share away from Airbus since it has only one competitor and manufactures mid-size aircrafts capable of flying long ranges with high fuel efficiency.Since the demand for Dreamliners is not used for personal or direct consumption but rather for its use in providing other goods and services, the demand for the Dreamliner is known as derived demand. The Airlines that purchase Boeing aircrafts want to comply with customer demand for more comfortable and luxury airplanes. Passengers will experience during their flights and great deal of comfort with higher cabin pressure and humidity which reduces common flying symptoms like headaches, dry mouth and fatigue.At the same time, midsized wide-body airplanes will provide to airlines with unmatched fuel efficiency, resulting in exceptional environment performance while cutting costs with fuel consumption. If airlines are able to cut cost with fuel, consumers will be directly benefited with cheaper air fares. 2) What examples of the major types of buying situations of you see in this case? Discuss the implications of each in terms of marketing strategy. A) The major types of buying situations are: straight rebuy, modified rebuy and new-task buying.In straight rebuy the buyer routinely reorders something without any modifications. The marketing strategy used in straight rebuy is based on getting high quality and low cost products, superior service, and prompt delivery from a partner seller. In fact, the buyer can save time with tedious paper work requirement since they have already ordered previously with the seller. In modified rebuy involves a business buying situation in which the buyer wants to modify product specifications, prices, terms, or suppliers.The market strategy of modified rebuy allows buyers to look at alternative offerings within their established purchasing guidelines. In fact, they might take this step if their current supplier has let a rebuy situation deteriorate because of poor service or delivery performance. In new-task buying involves a business buying situation in which the buyer purchases a product or services for the first time. The strategy of new-task buying in marketing is to acquire goods or services by carefully considering alternatives offerings.In fact, it is very important to a company entering a new field to search out potential suppliers, and evaluating proposals. 3) List the specific features of the Dreamliner. What customer benefits result from each? A) The Boeing 787 Dreamliner incorporates structural composite materials in the airframe instead of predominantly aluminum which offer customers a guaranteed reduction in maintenance costs. Moreover, the use of structural composites enhances fuel economy as well as trave l range of the 787 Dreamliner.This means that airlines will be able to save money with fuel so that consumers will pay less for air fares. Due to the use of composite technology, the Boeing 787 has a higher cabin pressure which helps customers have a better flight experience and reduce common flying symptoms such as headaches and fatigue. The cabin design incorporates increased legroom, and added rooms such as lounges which can benefit customers with a comfortable flying experience. In addition, the 787 Dreamliner also contains 19-inch electrochromic dimmable windows, which adds passenger comfort.At last, the Dreamliner is environmental friendly because it is a low emission airplane. In this case, customers will benefit from an airplane which emits less carbon dioxide which can help keep the air cleaner. 4) Discuss the customer buying process for a Boeing airplane. In what major ways does this process differ from the buying process a passenger might go through in choosing an airplan e? A) The process of buying an aircraft can be a complicated process due to the fact that a 787 Dreamliner can cost over 100 million dollars.In order to buy an airplane, buyers must take in consideration costs and benefits which come with the purchase of the airplane such as long-term operating and maintenance costs. Moreover, customers will have to wait for years in order to receive their planes since the aircraft manufacturer may take years to produce them. The purchase of an airline ticket by a consumer may be classified in a few different ways. Customers traveling the same route regularly do not require them to spend a great deal of time or mental effort in arriving at the purchase decision.On the other hand, leisure customers who travel occasionally, the purchase process would require considerably more time and effort. However, the decision of consumers to buy an airplane ticket has not as many factors to consider as in the case of an airline purchasing a 787 Dreamliner. In add ition, the outcomes are more numerous and the stakes are much higher. 5) What marketing recommendations would you make to McNerney as he continues to try to resolve the problems with the 787 Dreamliner program?A) The first problem that McNerney has to resolve with 787 Dreamliner program is improve ethics of the firm. If Boeing doesn’t have a good work and business ethic customer relationship can be compromised. As a matter of fact, Boeing could lose credibility with its suppliers and customers who may think twice before signing a contract with it. At last, McNerney should keep the supply chain in America because it is easier to contact with suppliers and verify the quality of products being used to assemble the 787 Dreamliner.